Car-roof guard-rail



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CAR-ROOF GUARD-RAIL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 4., 1921.

Application filed August 30, 1920. Serial No. 406,775.

T 0 all whom it may concern. I

' Be it known that 1, JAMES A. M RTIN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certaln new and useful Improvements in Car-Roof Guard-Rails, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has as its main object to provide a safety guard rail upon the roofs of freight cars of the roofed or box type, whereby persons whose business necessitates walking over them,are prevented from inadvertently falling to the ground and sustaining consequent injury. I

A further object is to provide such devices in forms which may be easily and securely applied to existing cars in an inexpensive manner.

Another object is to arrange the guard rails in a continuous manner, not only at the sides and ends of the car, but to extend across to adjacent cars, completely protecting the passage of a person from one car to another.

These and other similar objects are attained by the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and shown in the accompanying drawing, forming a material part of this disclosure, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conventional type of roofed freight car, including its usual appurtenances, and showing the application of the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the railing, partially in section.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side view showing a modified manner of securing the post on the roof.

Fig. 5 is a front view of the same.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the numeral 10 designates the body of the car, mounted upon trucks 11 resting upon a railroad track, and provided with doors 12, ladders 1 1, couplers 15, braking means 16, roof 17 and a runningboard 18 as usual.

The running board 18 is fixed centrally on the roof and extends from end to end of the car, providing a level footway for the brakeman or other attendants to pass in the performance of their occupation.

Due to shocks, jars and jolts caused by sudden stops and starts of the car, as usually encountered in operation, the foot-hold upon therelatively narrow running-board is precarious and often aggravated by weather conditions to the extent that accidents frequently occur, causing dislodgment of the attendant, who, in many cases, is thrown violently to the ground, being hurt, maimed or even killed outright.

. In order to avoid such occurrences and fulfilthe purposes of the invention, a substant al railing 20, is firmly secured at a suitable height by posts 21 to the roof 17, near its side edges and carried along the ends, as at 22, except at the running-board, where the passage is open.

These posts are formed at their upper ends with the usual enlarged heads 23 in which the rails are secured.

lVhile the lower ends of the posts may be shaped and secured to the roof in any desired and substantial manner, in order to avoid perforating the roof for screws or like fastening means, it is preferred to form each of them as a clevis 24 its upper element resting upon the roof at its edge, which is in contact with the bow of the clevis, its lower element passing below the overhanging roof edge and firmly secured to it by the clamp screw 25, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

This arrangement readily permits re moval or replacement of the railing, as does also the device shown in Figs. 4 and 5, in which the posts are provided with bases 28 resting on the roof and projections 29 on their sides in which mounted on pins 30 are pairs of levers 31, connected by links 32 with clev ses 33, their upper elements 34 containing pins 35 used to attach the links 32 and also as guides in slots 36 formed in the posts near their lower ends.

The lower elements 37 of the clevises extend under the overhanging roof and are provided with spurs 38 in contact with it and which upon operating the levers 31 are forced in, forming a secure clamping means, the levers 31 being held when raised by pins 39 passing through the posts.

In order to protect a person passing from one car to another coupled thereto the inner end posts have secured rigidly to them, in addition to the rail 22, other rails 22, the same extending parallel and beyond the running board 18 to such length as to nearly meet similar rails extending toward them from the adjacent car.

At the top of the steps or ladder 14, the rail section 40 is reduced in diameter and adapted to slide telescopically within the next section 20, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

A tension or pull spring &1 is inclosed in the tubular sectioinone end being fixed in an eye at the inner end oi the section l0, its other end being similarly secured to an eye fixed in a block L2 in the tubular section so as to retract the sliding section when the pivoted latch a3 is raised by manual operation thus leaving a clear passage for an attendant to enter upon or leave the roof without passii'ig over the railing the slidable section having a hand grip as by which it may be operated.

This sliding section is further )rovided with a key 45 movable in a slot 46 formed longitudinally in the tubular section as will be seen in Figs. 2 and 3.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a safety guard railing of a novel and practical nature has been disclosed capable of tullilling the objects specified.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with a car roof having a central longitudinal foot-way, of safety guard rails disposed on said roof adjacent its side and end edges except at said footway, telescopic sections the ends of the side rails, posts for said rails, and means for removably engaging said posts directly to the overhanging edges of the roof.

2. The combination with a car comprising a body, a roof, a running-board on the roof and a ladder on the body leading to the roof, of a railing inclosing said roof except at the ends of the running-board, a movable section. in said railing, means for normally locking said section, and means for retracting said section permitting access from the ladder to said roof.

3. The combination with a car having a roof and foot-way thereon, of guard rails inclosing said roof except at the ends of said foot-way, posts for supporting said rails, offset clamp clevises formed at the bottoms 0'1 said posts adapted to engage over the marginal edges of said roof, and rigid bars extending in parallel from the end posts in register with said foot-way to approximately half the distance to adjacent cars when coupled thereto and permitting passage therebetween.

4. The combination with a car having a roof and foot-way thereon, of guard rails inclosing said root except at the ends of said foot-way, posts "for supporting said rails, bases on the bottoms 01. said posts clamp elements slidably engaged on the posts, said elements having a part engageable below the roof, and levers for forcing said elements against the lower side of the roof below said bases.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this application.

JAMES AUTHUR MARTIN 

